Apple Festivals Mean Autumn
Is there anything more emblematic of the change of seasons from summer to fall than the switch from blueberries and watermelon to apples? Suddenly, there are apple festivals everywhere!
Here are a bushel of options for Road Trips Foodies on the road in September and October:
Taste apples at the 36th annual Nappanee Apple Festival in Nappanee, Indiana, September 15 through 18, 2011.
Celebrate apples at the Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show September 16 through 18, 2011, in Boonville, California.
The Capital Region Apple and Wine Festival is September 17 and 18, 2011, in Altamont, New York.
That’s the same weekend for the 13th annual Apple Festival at Country Apple Orchard, Harrisburg, South Dakota.
The 37th annual Johnny Appleseed Festival also takes place September 17 and 18, 2011, in (where else?) Johnny Appleseed Park, 5800 Harry Baals Drive, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Country Applefest in downtown Lebanon, Ohio, is September 24, 2011. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Look for apple fritters, apple pies, caramel apples, fudge-covered apples and all the other usual food fest staples, including BBQ sandwiches, pork chops, ham sandwiches, brats, hot dogs and burgers.
It’s the 53rd annual Apple Festival in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, September 24 and 25, 2011.
Celebrate the 19th annual Apple Festival in Long Grove, Illinois, September 30, October 1 and 2, 2011.
The 32nd annual Old Tyme Apple Festival is October 1, 2011, in downtown Versailles, Missouri. This year’s theme is “American As Apple Pie” so visitors can expect an apple pie bake-off and auction, Apple King and Queen crowning, Baby Dumpling, Apple Dumplin & Darlin’ contests and lots of apple-oriented goodies to eat among the hundreds of food and crafts booths.
Also on October 1, 2011, is the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Apple Butter Days Fall Festival will take place October 7 and 8, 2011, at the Camden County Museum, located on V Road just off Highway 54 in Linn Creek, Missouri. Visitors always enjoy stirring the big copper pot to help volunteers make delectable apple butter which can be purchased by the pint, and fresh-baked apple pies also will be available.
The 42nd anual Bloomfield Apple Fest is October 7, 8 and 9, 2011, in Bloomfield, a southern Indiana town.
The Mountain State Apple Harvest Fest is October 13 through 16, 2011, in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Haywood County celebrates its 23rd annual Apple Harvest Festival in Waynesville, North Carolina, on October 15, 2011.
Great Maine Apple Day happens October 23, 2011, at the Common Ground Education Center in Unity, Maine. See cider pressing, attend workshops and talks about cooking with apples, see and taste heirloom apples, walk through the Maine Heritage Orchard, and purchase apples, pies and cider. Note: the orchard is comprised entirely of apple varieties that originated in that state. A few of the varieties planted here are known outside Maine, but most are quite rare.
If you’d like to pick your own apples this fall, you’ll find an exhaustive list of apple orchards throughout the United States online.
(Photo © Susan McKee)
